The invention relates to the production of CO.sub.2 pellets by compressing carbon dioxide snow into a hard solid state, and optionally reducing the hard solid to the desired particle size.
A great number of uses for CO.sub.2 pellets are known, for example, as blasting media for deburring and paint removal, as a conveniently handleable refrigerant, etc. The production of solid, hard carbon dioxide takes place by compressing carbon dioxide snow. But in compressing this snow, for example, by compression rollers or rams, considerable losses of carbon dioxide snow occur, since, as is known, carbon dioxide assumes the gaseous state at ambient temperature (20.degree.-25.degree. C.) and atmospheric pressure; consequently, high losses of CO.sub.2 snow occur by sublimation under these conditions. The net result is these processes suffer a reduction in the yield of the desired product, namely the solid CO.sub.2 pellets, which is, of course, disadvantageous and undesirable. For a more detailed description of conventional systems to produce CO.sub.2 snow or crystals and CO.sub.2 pellets, attention is invited to WO 86/03707 = PCT/US85/02466.